New taskforce to tackle feral pigs

A farmer in the NSW north west says the growing feral pig problem will soon make cropping in the area unviable.

Murdo Cadell from Tambar Springs says pigs are a devastating and growing problem.

"They've been getting increasingly worse.

"We're in the prime sorghum growing area of New South Wales and it's getting to the stage where it's making growing crop unviable.

"A lot of the pigs we're getting are coming in from the west. They're so well adapted.

"The current measure are a bit piecemeal. There's been no coordinated approach. It's basically up to the farmers, and unless they're prepared to galvanise his whole district every time, it's just not working."

Announcing a pilot program to combat feral pigs on the Liverpool Plains, NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson agreed that the current control measures aren't working.

Speaking at AgQuip, she says the new Tamworth Regional Feral Pig Taskforce will coordinate efforts by government agencies, stakeholders and landholders to control the declared pests.

"I think we can be doing things a lot better than we are.

"The taskforce will have the full cooperation of all the government agencies involved."

The minister says, if successful, the feral pig control program will be rolled out to other areas in the state.